Wednesday, July 3, 2013

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE by Brenda Janowitz

My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, came out yesterday. And I'm feeling a million different emotions all at once: excitement, fear, happiness, joy, terror.... you name it.

It's not the first time that I've had a book come out. In fact, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is my third novel. But there's something about putting your work out there into the universe for all to see. And judge.I was recently chatting with a memoir writer about how we put ourselves out there as writers. I was telling her that I found it brave, the way she was able to tell the truth. But then I thought about it: isn't that what we do as fiction writers as well? Sure, I won't have family members coming to me to complain about the way they were portrayed in my novel, but aren't we truth tellers, too? Aren't we trying to tell the world what we think, how we think, and how we process it all?

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is about three generations of women with a culture all their
own. When Hannah finds herself spending
the summer with her glamorous grandmother, a widow six times over, at her
sprawling beach-front Hamptons estate, she learns that there’s more than one
recipe for happiness.

A story
of mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is a quirky story about correcting the mistakes from your past and trying
to create a future for yourself.

Julie
Buxbaum called it "a great summer read" and Ellen Meister said it was
a "wise, tender and poignant story." Melissa Senate said "this
gem of a novel sneaks up on you with just how powerful it truly is."

It's the most personal book I've written to date. It is, at its core, about how I see the world, what I think about relationships. It reflects who I am now, the person I've become, and it's terrifying to think that I've put that out there, for all the world to see.

Truth be told this is a great post, Brenda. We invest so much of ourselves in our stories that the whole process is one big roller coaster. Wishing you an amazing ride! Can't wait for readers to discover you.

I've been a fan forever, but something about the opening of this book struck me...and now in your comments, I realize it's because I had a glamorous grandma of my own... Now I can truly relate to this fictional world of your that speaks so much truth! And now I can relax and dive back in. thanks!

Wonderful! This book went straight to my heart, with a character whose journey to happiness touched me in all the right ways. Brava Brenda Janowitz, for weaving such a wise, tender and poignant story about the intersecting lives of three generations of women. A beautiful testament to love!